BISHKEK, October 12. /TASS/. Russia hopes that, following a ceasefire, Palestine and Israel will return to implementing relevant UN resolutions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists following a session of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers, which is convening in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

"We really hope that, as soon as this [Palestinian-Israeli] conflict is over, and we advocate for this to happen immediately, everyone will take seriously the obligations to fulfill the UN Security Council decision on the establishment of the State of Palestine based on those principles that have been approved by the United Nations," he said.

In connection with this, the top Russian diplomat pointed out that over decades, the UN decision "on the establishment of the State of Palestine has been sabotaged, above all, by the United States, which seeks to monopolize and usurp all efforts at mediation." "It is trying to push aside <...> both Russia, the UN and the EU, and by doing so, undermine the work of the ‘quartet’ of international intermediaries <...>. [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin has given a comprehensive assessment of such actions," Lavrov concluded.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its operation as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has declared a state of war readiness and announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians.